A master of metaphysics is farming.

Chapter 208 They Need My Help

The next morning, He Suian left early, while Xiang He slept in.

Xiang He reluctantly got up when someone came to visit.

"Who's the kind person who came so early in the morning..."

Xing Ji, standing outside the door, chuckled, "It's Young Master Qi, along with the Princess and the Heir Apparent."

"Those two are quite relaxed..."

Xiang He slowly got up to rinse her mouth. Shen Zhuoci and Qin Fuhua had already come in and were sitting down to wait.

Qi Xin was a quick-witted person. In order to have a bowl of hot soup noodles, he put down his book and went to the kitchen to help Zhu Nan.

"Hey girl, do you want an egg?"

"Add two more."

"You eat so much, how come you don't gain weight?"

Xiang He spat out the water in her mouth and glanced back at him, "I do either mental or physical work all day long, no wonder I'm fat."

Qi Xin snorted lightly, "Speaking of which, I went to the Ning residence a few days ago, and Madam Ning kept asking me about you, but I didn't say much."

Xiang He raised an eyebrow helplessly, "Alright, how's Ning Chong doing now? He hasn't gone to brothels again, has he?"

“How could he dare to go?” Qi Xin handed the bowl to Zhu Nan. “He failed the imperial examination because of that incident, and his father scolded him. Now he stays at home studying all day.”

"He wasn't fully recovered then, so he should be able to ask Your Majesty to let him come next time, right?"

“His father was hoping he would win a prize; how could he possibly let him complain?”

Being too eager for quick success and instant benefits, and not even fully recovered, means your mind might be blank when you look at the test questions. How can you possibly do well? It's all a waste of effort.

Xiang He wiped her face clean and casually touched the scars on her face; the raised scars were very obvious.

She didn't seem to care much and turned to go into the kitchen to help serve the soup noodles.

"Have the Crown Prince and the Princess made their preparations as well?"

Qi Xin carefully carried the bowl out, saying, "Of course."

Shen Zhuoci got up to help, "We're sorry to trouble you, we've come here early this morning to freeload."

“You’re quite free,” Xiang He placed the soup noodles in front of Qin Fuhua. “As the commander of the Qingyi Guard, why aren’t you in the palace this morning? What are you doing here?”

Qin Fuhua reached out and took the chopsticks. "Brother Shen has some free time today, so he came with me to ask you something."

"About Miss Yuan?"

Her face showed some worry, and she nodded, "Yes... I went to see the Imperial Advisor yesterday, and the imperial edict has been drafted and sent to the Yuan residence yesterday..."

"The matter is settled, why are you still asking me?"

Qin Fuhua grabbed Xiang He's wrist urgently, "I...I heard from the Imperial Preceptor that he has a way to help Qingqiu. I also met Lord He this morning. He said the Imperial Preceptor wants you to agree to enter Longguang Temple..."

Shen Zhuoci brought over a bowl of soup noodles, and as soon as he sat down, he picked up his chopsticks and tapped the back of her hand. "Why are you still talking about this? You're clearly threatening He'er. Do you really want to use her to exchange for Qingqiu?"

He glanced at Xiang He, "I tried to stop her, but she didn't think there was anything fishy about Longguang Temple. I'm really tired of talking to her..."

Xiang He took the soup noodles from Zhu Nan and sat down, stirring them a few times with her chopsticks. "Does the princess hope that I will enter Longguang Temple in exchange for Miss Yuan's freedom?"

"I...I don't know what to do either..." Qin Fuhua's delicate brows furrowed slightly. "Miss Xiang and Qingqiu are both very important to me. I really shouldn't bring this up again, but..."

Xiang He knew she was just saying that polite words. Of course, Xiang He and Yuan Qingqiu were more important as childhood best friends.

But then she thought about it again and realized that He Sui'an must have had ulterior motives for bringing this up with her.

Xiang He blew away the heat thoughtfully, ate a bite of egg noodles, and felt much more refreshed.

Seeing that she was eating without saying a word, Qin Fuhua didn't dare to speak either, because she did need someone's help and had to make a deal.

Qi Xin dared not speak. He had met the National Preceptor Wulu yesterday. Despite his kind face, he always felt that the man exuded an evil aura.

Everyone ate their noodles in silence until Xiang He finished all the soup, at which point they put down their chopsticks.

"Since the princess has asked me for a favor, I cannot refuse her."

Upon hearing this, Qin Fuhua's eyes lit up, but quickly dimmed again. "But you're going to Longguang Temple..."

Xiang He handed the large bowl to Zhu Nan, casually wiped his mouth, and said seriously, "I have a condition. If the princess can agree, I will send Zhu Nan to find the Imperial Advisor today."

Hearing that there were conditions, and seeing her serious expression, Qin Fuhua's heart skipped a beat. "You said..."

"If anything happens to me, you must protect my close friends, including Qi Xin, and make sure they are not harmed in the slightest."

The words that were about to be spoken immediately stuck in my throat. Seeing her firm words and deep, cold expression, it was as if she was saying that if I agreed casually, she would never associate with me again.

Faced with this choice, Qin Fuhua immediately sat up straight and said to her seriously, "I promise you, no matter what happens, I will consider them my friends. If anyone dares to lay a hand on them, I will use all the power of the Prince's Mansion to protect them."

Upon receiving her response, Xiang He smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Princess."

Xiang He glanced at Zhu Nan, clasped his hands in agreement, and left the He residence.

Shen Zhuoci, who was watching Xiang He from the side, raised his eyebrows slightly. First, the Imperial Advisor said he had a way, then He Sui'an talked to the Princess about the exchange, and now Xiang He has agreed to the conditions.

It's really all interconnected...

It seems they had already made plans and had their eyes on the power of the Prince's Mansion. If anything happened to them, at least they could protect their friends from being implicated.

It seems that Longguang Temple is a den of dragons and tigers, making them willing to resort to petty scheming to prioritize the well-being of those around them.

Shen Zhuoci withdrew his gaze, took out a folding fan from his waist and lazily fanned himself, "Hey girl, what's worth seeing at Longguang Temple?"

Qi Xin paused in his hand as he was clearing away the chopsticks. "Zhuo Ci has never been to Longguang Temple?"

"It's just a temple. There's nothing special about it."

He was used to frequently entering and leaving the palace. Every year when Longguang Temple held a prayer ceremony, he was ordered by the emperor to send people to deliver things. He had also seen the entire Longguang Temple and indeed did not see anything unusual.

“Perhaps you can’t see it,” Xiang He said, helping to clear the dishes. “I don’t know what’s at Longguang Temple, but I have a feeling the Imperial Preceptor is doing something.”

She turned and walked towards the kitchen, placing the bowls and chopsticks in a wooden basin. "Qi Xin, you wash them."

"Alright, he's beholden to those who feed him."

"Stinky boy."

Xiang He returned to the table and sat down. Black Crow came over, cawing, and stood on the table eating rice.

Has anything happened in the palace recently?

Qin Fuhua looked at her with suspicion. "What could possibly happen in the palace? When I entered the palace yesterday, everything was as usual. Nothing unusual happened."

“Oh,” Xiang He picked up a grain of rice with her finger, and Black Crow lightly pecked at it. “That makes sense, since Sui An didn’t say anything when he came back.”

After a long silence in the courtyard, there was a knock on the gate, and Xiang He's heart skipped a beat.

The two people who came yesterday make Xiang He feel that something big is about to happen whenever she hears a knock on the door...

"I'll go open the door..."

Seeing the person outside through the crack in the door, Xiang He immediately opened the floodgates, "Xiao Yang, what brings you here?"

The person who arrived was Xiang Yang. He was covered in sweat and looked very anxious. He took out an envelope and said, "The general asked me to deliver this letter to my sister."